Walking for Better Posture

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All the walking in the world won't do you any good if you're tweaking your knee, jostling your spine, or overtaxing tight muscles. Jonathan FitzGordon, a New York City yoga instructor for seven years, created the Core Walking program to help his students practice posture and alignment outside of yoga class. His approach aims to reduce wear and tear on the bones, joints, and ligaments and help the body rediscover its inherent alignment. "If you learn to walk optimally," he says, "you'll create ease in your body with every step you take." Here, FitzGordon identifies four alignment remedies for common problems.

1. Lift Your CrownProblem: A jutting head or chin can throw your neck and spine out of alignment, which can cause strain.

Solution: Lengthen the spine and the back of your neck to bring your shoulders to the proper position; allow your spine to unfurl.

Benefit: Helps your body find its natural alignment.

2. Engage the CoreProblem: A weak core, which puts excess pressure on the disks between your vertebrae, causes compression in the spine that can result in disk degeneration over time.